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OK Buddy, your heads are coming right off
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Head w/rocker cover & assembly removed
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Rocker Assembly close up. I'm taking loads of pictures like this to help remember how to put things back.
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Piston with cylinder off
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Pistons off, connecting rod
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OK, Cylinders, left side (on right) showing chrome loss, a chronic problem with these bikes.
This means I'll need to disassemble and inspect the engine for damage.
Also the left side rings were broken.
This is the moment of truth. Either I shoot myself for being an idiot, or become a motorcycle mechanic.
Fortunately, I had just finished re-reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and I was inspired to go on.
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Beheaded Guzzi. My Moto Guzzi Loopframe Yahoo group advisors say I need to pull the crankshaft to inspect. So here goes...
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Transmission out, not to mention everything I needed to remove to get it out.
Thanks to Greg Bender's web site for showing the way.
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Engine out. Heavy, but not too heavy. Will have to decide if I reassemble heads and tranny on the bench or on the bike.
Will need help with putting it back in the frame if I choose the former, which I'd be leaning towards. Volunteer?
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On the bench 1/31/2016
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Timing Cover End
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Stripped! End of Phase 2.
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Visit to Charlie Mullendore's Shop near Antietam, MD (http://www.antietamclassiccycle.com) to have him look at crankshaft.
Charlie is one of the experts on the Guzzi Loopframe forums, and a really nice guy.
He will be my mentor for this rebuild. A really unique opportunity.
His opinion was I should have the shaft ground down to first undersize, so I'll leave it for him to take to his machinist.
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Start Phase 3 - Rebuild!
A clean case awaiting newly ground crankshaft to arrive from Charlie's machinist any day.
As a bonus, Charlie offered to clean out the crankshaft sludge trap, which can be hard to access without a good tool.
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Gilardoni Cylinders arrived. Newly milled Crankshaft and new bearings visible.
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Refurbished heads. Also used Charlie's head guy for this job.
They look like new.
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Crank with new bearings and Cam shaft installed.
Oil pump also installed, but too soon!
...need to pull off the oil pickup so I can install the rods.
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Unexpectedly, it turned out the machinist ground rear end journal, but only polished front end.
So rear bearing is one size down, front is standard. Charlie had an undersize crank job so we swapped front bearings.
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So it looks like the left rod big-end must have been ground down in the past to make it tighter.
It's way too tight with the new bushing, and plastigauge measurement confirms.
Note the stretched bolt! Perhaps from over tightening.
Interestingly, this is the side that had the broken rings and chrome loss.
Charlie is sending a used replacement rod and I'll match weight by grinding.
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New used rod from Charlie was .2 oz lighter, so I ground off some of the right one to match weight within 3 grams.
Rods balanced and installed.
Forgot to take a picture of the finshed ground rod, but I took off a lot more than the pic above. 7 grams.
You can sort of see it here. Completely ground both sides, but I kept the edge contour the same.
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New Gilardoni Cylinders & Pistons installed.
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Re-installing timing gears. Here's my solution for getting 108 ft-lbs torque on the Cam nut.
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New springs, points, condensor, rotor and cover for the distributor.
I was going to overhaul it, but I couldn't get the damn gear pinion out, another common problem.
So after conferring with Charlie, I decided to leave it, as there was no evidence of oil leakage or creep.
On the right, my "tool" for holding the ball bearing in while re-installing the rotor shaft.(To help me remember)
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Re-finished heads on. So I'm thinking I'll re-assemble on the bench, which will mean I'll need someone to help me install on the frame later.
Distributor awaiting new gasket.
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Changed my mind in a fit of inspiration! Mounted the engine while I still could myself.
Will do the rest from here and I can get the Transmission on the bench now.
I'm using some automotive Rustoleum just to touch up the frame where the outercoat has worn off.
I see no rust on the frame. Only undercoat. I did start thinking about a full restoration. But that's not my stated goal...
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Distributor On. Valves Timed. Flywheel On.
Transmission on the bench, that's next.
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Transmission on. Did not strip it because I read in Dave Richard's book that they are solid so better not to open.
So decided to just clean it up and redo seals even though Charlie has a different opinion on the tran. I'll see how it runs.
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New seals on output shaft and clutch bearing and rod.
I went through 2 shaft seals until I realized I was putting the nut on backwards.
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I couldn't figure out why the washer was shredding the seal...
Charlie to the rescue again.
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I also had to reassemble the clutch twice because the first time I installed the transmission it didn't work.
Thankfully Charlie told me to test it before I continued with assembly.
So I had to put this damn thing on twice, which required back therapy later.
Turns out I reversed one of the plates. Second time I got it right and clutch seems to work nicely.
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Assembly underway. Starter, Carbs, Air cleaner, Generator, shift linkage.
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There's the swing arm against the wall. That's next. The seller had just reassembled the rear end, so I'm not opeing it.
Next I'll reconnnect all the wiring, which was a patch job to begin with.
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Almost fully assembled. Just gas tank, pipes, and seat to go.
Needed to order a new oil pressure sensor and make sure dash indicator light is working before I start it.
Also the clutch cable snapped, not sure why. Temporarily using a cable end repair kit from Autozone.
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Fully assembled with new clutch cable and ready for first start-up. Yikes! Very nervous about that.
Will run for 15-20 minutes while adjusting carbs and then re-torque the heads and re-adjust valves.
Completed engine rebuild September 17, 2016. A year and one week from above.
Special thanks to Charlie Mullendore of Antietam Classic Cycle!
Click here for proof of life.
